Advises Him To Learn More About Terms Like “Public Official,” “Public Corruption,” “Public Confidence,” “Public Trust,” “Public Service,” and “Public Duty”
I came across this odd and another recent representative headline in the Nigerian media. “Missing Funds: The EFCC Has No Power to Investigate Kogi Govt.—Agbakoba”
Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), should attempt to understand these psychological ethics: a position in government is a position of public trust that is to be used to strengthen the public’s confidence in public officials’ ability to serve the public interest.
As lawyers argue against or for Agbakoba’s remarks on the exact scope of powers of the anti-corruption law enforcement authorities like the EFCC, especially in relation to the States of the Federation, from the position of a forensic/legal/public policy psychologist, the likes of Agbakoba need to be openly conditioned on the unintended, indirect, and direct disabling effects of his positions on a young and highly troubled democracy called Nigeria.
Agbakoba is no doubt a veteran legal practitioner in the country. I truly hope that, like in most democratic professions, the legal field in Nigeria makes it mandatory that for any lawyer to maintain their license to practice or speak authoritatively as a lawyer, he or she must be required by the government to engage in continuing education with passes. As such, here is what I see could be added to that continuing education: an understanding of some essential criminal justice terms related to law enforcement, with a focus on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding exposing, preventing, and investigating public corruption and other criminal activities.
In light of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent outcry that state governors are stealing from federal allocations to local government councils, this debate over public official dishonesty, whether at the federal, state, or local government levels, is timely and necessary.
Yet, in an unbelievable manner, a practicing lawyer in Nigeria’s well-known unethical and corruption-related environment would, according to the media, say how a state spends its public money should not be the business of the EFCC but that of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC). This is a confused utterance because they are sister agencies that help the society pursue public corruption investigations.
Agbakoba tells Nigerians that the Supreme Court has stated in one of its judgments that the EFCC could not be a jack of all trades, ok we all agree on that, but the Supreme Court of Nigeria has at no time, in a declarative rule, said an anti-public corruption agency like the EFCC can’t investigate cases of public corruption at the federal, state, or local levels. Never! This is gross miseducation of the public. This is clearly flawed. In fact, no panel of judges in the Nigeria supreme court can stop EFCC’s basic operational role to investigate cases of public corruption as long as Nigeria has not been openly declared as a banana republic.
Agbakoba must have forgotten that we now live in a global social media world where students and scholars in criminal justice matters read comments like this tasteless one from him: “Like the current trending case where the EFCC arrested some people in Kogi State on allegations of money laundering, I believe that case should not be the business of the EFCC at all.” Is it their business how Kogi spends its money? “Even if it is their business, is it their lawful business to make that inquiry?”
He went on to say, “It is not the duty of the EFCC to be chasing the Kogi State government and threatening to storm the State House to seize documents or harass the Accountant-General of the state.”
Here this from him. “My advice to the EFCC is that whatever they want to do, they should remember that there is a law that created them, and they must also remember that Section 46 of the EFCC Act has stated and narrowed down their functions, and in a case where they want to expand their functions, they must go to the National Assembly to do so.”
Agbakoba became more jumbled from the point of view of basic criminal investigation roles with these words: “If I were the lawyer to the Kogi State government, what I would do is go to court and tell the court that as a result of the Supreme Court judgment, the EFCC does not have the power to demand that we provide documents or give them our accounting books.”
The worst part of his muddled assertion is, “If we have lost money, we are the ones to complain, and if we are not complaining or we are complicit in any fraud, then the appropriate agency to handle it is the ICPC or the state House of Assembly.” Incredible.
According to the media, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is investigating and has charged one Ali Bello, identified as the nephew of Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, and one Dauda Suleiman on a 10-count charge of alleged misappropriation and money laundering.
But the likes of Agbakoba said the EFCC has no constitutional right to investigate and take this matter to court. From an ethical standpoint, this is a clear and irresponsible assertion made by a practicing legal practitioner. Agbakoba, we are talking about public and state money and resources.
Agbakoba, if an anti-fraud and public corruption agency like the EFCC can’t investigate cases of public corruption and abuse of office, what will happen to tax payers’ money?
It was not long ago that a sister agency to the EFCC, the ICPC, revealed how Nigeria’s justice system has an alarming corruption problem. By way of his thinking, he is pointing out that legislatures should be in charge of investigating state cases; let the judges investigate themselves?
Agbakoba should be updated to reflect that in a society modeled after the American constitutional and common law systems, branches such as the executive, which includes the EFCC, investigate public corruption and other monetary offenses. It is called separation of power.
The likes of Agbakoba ought to see the EFCC, notwithstanding its weaknesses, as a national asset, and we should help it function effectively.
Why is Agbakoba adding more stress to a country like Nigeria with feeble governance approaches where corrupt officials are utterly failing Nigerians?
Agbakoba, from the point of view of legal psychology, should agree that public officials must be always held to a higher standard, and where they fail, they may be charged with honest services fraud for most conduct that violates legal and ethical standards.
Agbakoba should understand that, despite Nigeria’s efforts to mature as a democracy, police agencies and specialized anti-crime agencies, which include the EFCC, ICPC, and other law enforcement agencies, play a central role in investigating and preventing corruption.
Agbakoba, as he is aware of a “public official” is a member of parliament, a person or worker acting for or on behalf of Nigeria across federal, state, and local authorities.
The term “official act” means any decision or action on any question, matter, cause, or proceeding, which may at any time be pending or which may by law be brought before any public official, in such official’s official capacity, or in such official’s place of trust.
Agbakoba and his likes must take it on ethical, moral, and constitutional grounds that the EFCC has a duty to identify, investigate, and obtain criminal prosecution against federal, state, or local government public officials because public corruption is the violation of a public official’s duty of faith toward his or her community. Period.
Agbakoba, as he knows, most public corruption occurs when an official is offered something of value in exchange for a favorable decision. Public corruption can be committed on the federal, state, or local level by anyone elected, appointed, engaged, or otherwise in the employ of a constituency of citizens.
A judge’s ruling, a legislator’s vote, a bureaucrat’s contract for work—each of these is susceptible to public corruption. Agbakoba; in case they breach public trust through dishonest acts, should the EFCC stay away from these criminal and dishonest acts just because you think they are acting too powerfully?
Agbakoba, legislative corruption and judicial corruption, as you know, refer to deals that influence legislators and judges, respectively; should the EFCC have at it also?
Agbakoba, contractual Corruption is an illegal form of persuasion connected to the distribution of government contracts. Law enforcement and legal officers’ corruption refers to any improper attempt to sway officers of the law. ‘Oga Sir, make we leave them alone’
Agbakoba, what will you say about widely used sting tactics in most democratic nations to reduce public corruption cases?
With rampant corruption all over the public spaces in Nigeria, it is time the EFCC and ICPC, at different times, set up what I will call “Operation Oga Broom,” investigation moves that should be used as sting tactics to net corrupt public officers.
This reminds me of when the FBI and local law enforcement in America, conducted a sweep of a Miami courthouse in the late 1980s and discovered widespread bribery. Known as Operation Court Broom, the investigation used sting tactics to net five judges and former judges, as well as six lawyers and one businessman. FBI agents put false trials on the docket and staged meetings in which judges were bribed to suspend evidence, release information, reduce bail, and appoint lawyers to cases. The resolution of the operation took over a decade, but the guilty parties were forced to repay bribe money and to serve jail sentences. What if this was done in Nigeria by the EFCC? Agbakoba, what would you say? Let me guess, ‘Oh, judges, as well as lawyers and businessmen, how they want to operate in their different venues na their business oo’
Agbakoba, the Nigerian High Court, has a history of been a shopping mall where judges hawk and sell injunctions. I hope Agbakoba would not say ‘na their business oo’
Public corruption is a breach of trust by federal, state, or local officials—often with the help of private sector accomplices.
Public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above private gain. Public service is a public trust that requires one to be loyal to the laws and policies to maintain trust in our democratic institutions and values. Public duty is a duty by any public official in the service of the people.
That public confidence is earned through the commitment of those in and working with government to uphold the principle of public service. Public service is a public trust, requiring you to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and confidence in our democratic institutions and values.
The public officials earn that trust and confidence by faithfully performing their duties, adhering to ethical standards, and effectively carrying out their public duties.
Where Agbakoba and I would like to go is where the EFCC, for example, consistently upholds the public’s trust through truthfulness in words and actions as it seeks the truth through what must always be unbiased investigations. Such actions would instill trust in our slowly developing democratic law enforcement institutions.
With democracy and democratic institutions growing in the Nigerian space, I hope Agbakoba takes the necessary updates on terms like “public official,” “public corruption,” “public’s confidence,” “public trust,” and “public duty” to reduce disinformation or stop misinformation that is harmful and damages the public’s trust in our slowly growing democratic public institutions. We all must know that public confidence is gained through the commitment of those in and working with government in order to uphold the principle of public service. Nigeria will get there!
Professor John Egbeazien Oshodi, who was born in Uromi, Edo State, Nigeria, to a father who served in the Nigeria police for 37 years, is an American-based police and prison scientist and forensic, clinical, and legal psychologist. A government consultant on matters of forensic-clinical adult and child psychological services in the USA; chief educator and clinician at the Transatlantic Enrichment and Refresher Institute, an online lifelong center for personal, professional, and career development; and a former interim associate dean and assistant professor at Broward College, Florida. The Founder of the Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi Foundation, Center for Psychological Health and Behavioral Change in African Settings In 2011, he introduced state-of-the-art forensic psychology into Nigeria through N.U.C. and Nasarawa State University, where he served in the Department of Psychology as an Associate Professor. An adjunct professor in the doctorate clinical psychology program at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Psychology in Florida, USA. Director of Online Studies and Professor of Psychology—Online Faculty at Weldios University in the Republic of Benin. He is a virtual behavioral leadership professor at ISCOM University, Republic of Benin. Founder of the proposed Transatlantic Egbeazien Open University (TEU) of Values and Ethics, a digital project of truth, ethics, and openness. Over forty academic publications and creations, at least 300 public opinion pieces on African issues, and various books have been written by him. He specializes in psycho-prescriptive writings regarding African institutional and governance issues. His most recent textbook publication is Concise Psychology: An Integrated Forensic Approach to Psychology for Global African Settings.
